Just thinking about, Tomorrow...

As Jim was leaving for work today, I realized something. Since our son will, by nature or by force, arrive sometime tomorrow, today would be my last day as a mother of just one child.

I meet this realization with mixed emotions. On one hand, I know a sibling will be good for Reagan. She's great at sharing, but rarely has the need to do so. A sibling will help her perfect the skill. While she's not selfish, because she is the only child, she is the center of our world. I always knew I wanted more than one child because, don't tell anyone, and if you do I'll deny it, I loved growing up with my brothers. They were much older, and it was lonely when they left, but I have some cherished memories with each of them. Things like Ghost runners in pasture baseball with Austin, lightning bugs in Kansas with Quentin (that he collected for his now-wife, Jody), dancing to the radio (even the commercials) with Jon while he packed for the Army, and helping Glenn paint doors in the new house when I was in 7th grade are all some of my favorites, but I'm sure I could make an entire blog with more. I always knew I wanted my kids to have a chance at memories like that.

On the other hand, Reagan is really a special kid. I know every mother thinks this about her child, but I know I'm not the only one who thinks so about mine. Everywhere we go people stare at her. She stops traffic at the grocery store, and I've literally seen people pause mid-bite in restaurants when she walks by. She rarely gets in trouble, and when she does it's usually because her bone-head parents have kept her up too late a few nights too many, or tried to pack too many activities into a weekend. Lately when we've been walking she'll run to catch up to me, grab my hand, rub it on her cheek and say, "Ooh, I love you, Mommy!" Jim and I have said to one another several times in the last few weeks, "I hope our next kid is as good as our first one". It's hard not to wonder how Reagan will change once her little brother is around.

So, with all these thoughts running through my head, I knew that despite the bittersweet feeling in my gut, I wanted this to be a special day for Reagan. The problem: I'm 40 weeks and 2 days pregnant, with no desire to have labor, or labor like activities start too far from home. So, I did the simplest things I could think of. I took her to Starbucks and got her a cookie before we went to the playground. After that we stopped at the grocery store for pie crust and headed home to make Reagan's first pie. Blueberries and helping are two of Reagan's favorite things, so I was excited about my idea. She was thrilled. She got to dump in ingredients, stir the mixture, and make pie-crust hearts for the top of the pie. When I told her I wanted to take pictures, she was even more excited. (I think there may be some modeling in her future.)









I can't wait to meet Reagan's little brother tomorrow (or for the poor kid to finally have a name!), and I know that Reagan's sweet, loving side will help her rise to the occasion of being a big sister.